Increase your pension
There are two ways to increase your benefits.
There are two ways you can currently increase your pension from the Scheme.
- Buying extra pension
- Paying Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVCs)
Don't forget you get tax relief on extra contributions which lowers their real cost to you. Find out more here.
There are limits on the amount of extra contributions you can pay. To find out more please contact us.
Buying extra pension
The maximum amount of additional pension you can buy is £8,030 (2024/25 rate). This figure will increase each year in line with the cost of living.
The extra pension you buy will be paid the same way as your retirement pension.
How much does it cost?
The cost to you will depend on a number of factors.
Below are some general examples.
You can additionally use the online calculator developed by the Local Government Association (LGA) to get an idea of how much the purchase of additional pension might cost you. This can be accessed here.
Your pension fund administering authority may require a satisfactory medical report to be submitted, at your cost, before your application is accepted. Where this is the case you will be notified of the process to be followed after submitting your application to pay APCs.
Example 1
Kyle is 25 and wants to buy £1,000 additional yearly pension for himself.
He wants to pay the additional contributions he would have to make over 20 years.
The cost of buying £1,000 of additional yearly pension is £52.70 each month for the next 20 years (£12,648 in total).
Example 2
Marion is aged 47 and wants to buy £750 additional yearly pension for herself.
She wants to pay for this over 10 years.
The cost of buying £750 of additional yearly pension would be £96.30 each month for the next 10 years (£11,556 in total).
Pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)
You can pay more contributions to our AVC schemes (sometimes called "in house" AVC schemes).
You choose how much to pay in AVCs and how they are invested. The money will come straight out of your pay and go to the AVC provider who will invest it for you.
What happens when I retire?
You can either use your AVCs to take a lump sum from the fund when you retire or you can buy an annuity.
If you are interested in paying AVCs please contact us for further information about our AVC providers. Alternatively, you can visit the dedicated local government AVC website/s by visiting our 'Useful links' section.
Please note
Under previous regulations there have been different ways to buy extra membership or pension. You may have one of these arrangements in place and this will be honoured. These previous options have now been closed and we can't accept any new applications.